argentumadmin, Author at Argentum Strategy

Defining Your Competitive Set

At the core of every positioning statement is the reason a product/service/brand is different and better than its competitors. Because of this, how you choose to define your competitive set is a critical piece of developing a compelling positioning statement. Here’s a quick 3-minute video of how to strategically approach defining your own...

Easy Customer Research

Last week I met with a potential B2B client who has been fortunate to have her product accepted by a major distributor in her category. Phone calls and new orders have begun to come in, which is very exciting! However when I asked her how most people were finding her, she did not know the answer. So I suggested the most basic, most inexpensive...

All Aboard! Sharing Positioning With Non-Marketers

Whenever I teach a positioning class or kick off a positioning workshop, one of the first things I say is that positioning statements are generally internal-use-only documents. This is not because they contain secrets – any marketing communication you create will reflect your positioning. Rather, it’s because positioning statements...

Cage Match: Positioning v. Elevator Pitch

A while back, we taught a workshop for the Accelerator participants at the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship about positioning statements and marketing plans. In the attached video segment, you can see how we helped the entrepreneurs differentiate between positioning and an elevator pitch, and to understand when and...

Jamming at Content Jam

Last week I had the opportunity to present at #ContentJam, Chicago’s premier content marketing conference. It was fun to tailor my positioning how to’s to a very specific marketing audience, and I was able to put one of my favorite examples, cheaplubes.com, to especially effective use. You can see the example certainly made an impact...

Ready to Start Spending on Marketing?

Last month I wrote about a lunch I had with Ankur Gopal, an entrepreneur whose B2B technology company, Interapt, is growing rapidly. He asked me two great questions: 1. TIMING: How will he know when it’s the right time in his business’ life cycle to bring in Argentum or a similar strategic marketing resource? 2. BUDGETS: Should he...

Time to Add a Marketing Strategy Resource to Your Team?

I recently had lunch with Ankur Gopal, an entrepreneur who whose B2B technology company, Interapt, is growing rapidly. It was exciting to hear about what he’s been learning as his business grows, and when our discussion turned to marketing, he asked me two great questions: 1. TIMING: How will he know when it’s the right time in his...

Be Everything to Everybody

One of the most memorable Saturday Night Live skits from my childhood was the commercial for the made up product Shimmer featuring Gilda Radnor and Dan Akroyd. Perhaps I can even trace my marketing beginnings to that long ago parody – it certainly stuck in my memory! The premise of the commercial was that NEW Shimmer could be used as both a...

Great Creative Needs Time

A friend recently shared this simple but brilliant video. It was created by the Hungarian marketing communications magazine, Kreatív, to help its clients understand why better work requires time. It’s been a great tool to help our clients understand the creative process a little better, and our agency partners love it. See the video.

Positioning Process Overview

Last month I was preparing to conduct a positioning workshop for a client. The CFO sent me an email that said: “Is it possible to give me an example of what a positioning statement looks like? I think I understand the concept, but not sure how it looks or will be used…” It occurred to me that my response to him could be useful for...